It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the south end with his arms wide open, listening to the crowd's rendition of his anthem. Following a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his role, he netted his first goal of the campaign, ultimately delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” commented the Belgian goalkeeper.
Key Saves Secure the Win
The shot-stopper knew better than anyone, having to save a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and make another decisive stop from the French midfielder in the dying moments. This result leaves Madrid on nine points and the opposition team outside the qualifying spots. After a match with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the Juventus manager may consider a decent start, with those saves representing a missed chance around the 85-minute mark; their current situation though presents worrying statistics.
“A side from Italy in trouble is doubly threatening,” the Madrid coach had remarked in advance.
Juventus, which hadn’t won since September, did cause Madrid issues at the beginning and once more near the end. Madrid commanded the ball, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the break, especially with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and the striker linking up, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Away Side
The visitors began brightly, certainly. Within three minutes, they believed they were in front, the forward a little unlucky to be called for holding Éder Militão. Shortly after, Raúl Asencio had to intervene ahead of him when the wing-back dashed clear on the right flank. And three minutes after that, Weston McKennie's shot was pushed wide.
What followed, from the defender's drive, was a more impressive stop. Fifteen minutes had passed. However, quickly the Italians' momentum had dissipated as well. Madrid took control. Largely it was rather mechanical, though, and the top chances fell to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who wouldn’t be Alonso’s striker of choice. A couple were headed over, a third took a deflection; another chance with the head was wasted by the center-back.
Turkish Talent Impresses
Most creative play were provided by Arda Güler. The Turk, whose play was the nearest thing there was to fluidity, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him clip to the back post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of the French superstar early on, but when he did appear it was the nearest Madrid got to scoring. First his shot was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would make eight saves. Then some exquisite dribbling saw him turn the full-back repeatedly until he tumbled to the turf and set up Militão to blast over.
Late Tension
Militão threw himself to stop the runner at the start of the second half, and then came the customary Courtois rescue when unexpectedly Vlahović was through. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a pass inside his own penalty box and the ball bouncing from the instep of his boot right through the middle to beyond the halfway line. Sprinting after it, ample room appearing, the striker raced Militão, using his strength and heading into the area where the keeper saved.
Then what tends to happen occurred, the save compensated for by the score that follows it. A flash from Vinícius Júnior created it, working himself enough space amid four men to release a driven effort which hit the upright. Positioned in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. With the deadlock broken, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman stopped by Di Gregorio and Fede Valverde seeing his volley blocked by Gatti. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from Mbappé and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the match was slipping away, the defender had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were exposed and at the mercy of the substitute momentarily alone in the penalty box. Finally in the final seconds the Madrid keeper flew in to deny Thuram, his job done. For the visitors, there was no way back, the opening goal of the campaign the last of the encounter.
“I'm overjoyed, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a lot of time out and thinking of that moment, returning in the Champions League and against a big team. To score a winner, here at home, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, really good. To perform was important and to net the match-winner benefits the team a lot.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, still 15 goals, 14 assists, but I know the perception was that it was poorer. But I was a contributor to that, how we underperformed last year, there were nonetheless good moments but not the level I aim to play at, not the caliber like the first year. Now I’ve had my operation, a new manager, he’s got that shape, how we want to play…. You have to take lessons.”
